The discovery changed everything.
Daniel was not merely a forgotten brother.
He was connected to the account Matthew had been investigating.
And if the account still existed, then whatever Matthew had been trying to uncover might not have disappeared with him.
I called the number Eleanor had given me.
It was disconnected.
I tried again.
Nothing.
Henry searched through the documents from the shed.
There was no newer address.
No phone number.
No employer.
Nothing.
For the first time, I wondered whether Daniel was alive.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then the line went dead.
I looked at Henry.
He had heard it.
“Was that Daniel?”
“I don't know.”
The phone rang again.
Same number.
This time a man's voice spoke.
“You need to stop looking.”
My entire body stiffened.
“Who is this?”
“You already know enough.”
Henry reached for the phone.
I put it on speaker.
“Tell me who you are,” I said.
The man ignored him.
“Some things happened a long time ago. Leave them there.”
“Did you know Matthew?”
Silence.
Then the caller said, “You should think about your child.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Henry's expression had hardened.
“That was a threat.”
I nodded.
He immediately wanted to call the police.
I agreed.
But before we could, Eleanor entered the room.
She saw our faces.
“What happened?”
I told her.
She sat down.
Her hands began shaking.
“He knows,” she whispered.
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“Victor.”
The name landed heavily.
“You think that was Victor?”
“I don't know.”
“But you recognized the threat.”
She nodded.
“I've been afraid of him for years.”
I sat beside her.
“Why?”
She looked toward the window.
“After Matthew died, Victor came to the house.”
“When?”
“A week after the funeral.”
“What did he want?”
“He asked whether Matthew had left anything behind.”
My heart tightened.
“What did you say?”
“That I knew nothing.”
“Did you?”
“I knew about the letter.”
I stared at her.
“You never told him?”
“No.”
“Did he believe you?”
“I don't know.”
Henry asked, “Did he mention Daniel?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why are you sure it's him?”
“Because he said something.”
“What?”
“He told me that Matthew should have known better than to interfere.”
The room went cold.
I whispered, “You never told me that.”
“I was afraid.”
Again.
That word.
I was beginning to hate it.
Not because Eleanor had been cowardly.
Because fear had been allowed to dictate every decision surrounding Matthew's death.
I looked at Henry.
“We need to find Daniel.”
He nodded.
The next morning, we contacted the bank again.
They could not disclose account information.
But they confirmed one thing.
Daniel had accessed the account recently.
Three months earlier.
That meant he was alive.
And he was still watching the money.
The bank could not give us his address.
But they offered one piece of information.
He had made the transaction from a branch across town.
Henry and I went there.
The manager recognized the account.
He couldn't give us Daniel's address, but after hearing why we were looking for him, he agreed to pass along a message.
“If he contacts us,” he said, “we'll tell him you're looking for him.”
We left.
Nothing happened for two days.
Then a letter arrived.
No return address.
Inside was a single sheet.
Do not trust the person who found you.
I read it twice.
Henry saw my face.
“What?”
I handed it to him.
He read it.
“That's absurd.”
“Is it?”
He looked at me.
“Who found whom?”
I didn't answer.
The question had been bothering me.
Henry had seen me before we met.
He had recognized me.
He had eventually approached me.
He had known something about my life that I didn't know he knew.
Could the warning be about him?
I didn't want to believe it.
But I had learned enough not to dismiss uncomfortable questions.
“Did you know Daniel?” I asked.
Henry stared.
“No.”
“Have you ever met Victor?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I watched his face.
He wasn't angry.
He looked hurt.
“I understand why you're asking,” he said.
“But?”
“But I have told you everything.”
I shook my head.
“No. You haven't.”
He fell silent.
I regretted saying it as soon as I saw his expression.
But trust had become fragile.
The next evening, someone broke into the shed.
We returned to Daniel's old house and found the door hanging open.
Boxes had been thrown across the floor.
The notebook was gone.
So were the photographs.
Whoever entered had searched only the places where we had found Matthew's clues.
They knew exactly what to take.
I called the police.
This time, the officer took the situation seriously.
He asked whether anyone had threatened us.
I told him about the phone call.
I told him about Victor.
The officer wrote everything down.
Before leaving, he said, “Don't investigate this yourselves.”
I promised.
But promises had become complicated in our house.
That night, Henry and I sat in silence.
Finally he said, “I want you to know something.”
I looked at him.
“If you decide you can't stay married to me after all this, I'll accept it.”
I didn't answer.
“I won't use the baby to keep you.”
My throat tightened.
“I never thought you would.”
“I need you to know.”
I looked at his hands.
He was wearing the same wedding ring I had placed on his finger.
For a moment, I wanted the old life back.
The simple one.
The one where the greatest sadness was missing Matthew.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown number.
There was an address.
And beneath it:
Come alone.
Daniel.
I showed Henry.
His face went pale.
“No.”
“He wants to talk.”
“He told you to come alone.”
“I know.”
“You can't go.”
“Then what do we do?”
Henry stared at the screen.
“We tell the police.”
I nodded.
But before I could call, another message arrived.
If Henry comes, you will never learn why Matthew died.
I froze.
Henry read it over my shoulder.
Neither of us spoke.
For the first time, the person behind the mystery had drawn a line between us.
And whoever stood on the other side knew exactly how to use our secrets against us.
Click Here to continue read next: PART8: Daniel Finally Agreed to Speak, but His First Answer Turned the Story of Matthew’s Death in a Direction I Never Expected
The Promise I Made to a Grieving Woman Followed Me Into a New Marriage, But I Never Expected the Past to Wait Behind Our Door
Part 7 of 16
